The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 30 October 2026 asked banks, non-banking financial companies and other regulated lenders to act on changes the United Nations Security Council made to five entries on its Taliban Sanctions List. The circular is numbered RBI/2026-27/303.
What happened
The Ministry of External Affairs told the RBI about UN press release SC/16494, dated 29 October 2026. In it, the Security Council committee set up under resolution 1988 (2011) amended entries on the list of people and entities linked to the Taliban. The list carries an assets freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo.
The five amended entries are all individuals: TAi.007 (Abdul Latif Mansur), TAi.024 (Abdul Ghani Baradar), TAi.026 (Amir Khan Motaqi), TAi.082 (Abdul-Haq Wassiq) and TAi.093 (Khairullah Khairkhwah). Each entry records 29 October 2026 as an amendment date. The circular does not say that anyone was added or removed.
The circular went to commercial banks, small finance banks, payment banks, urban and rural co-operative banks, regional rural banks, local area banks, NBFCs, asset reconstruction companies and all-India financial institutions.
What it means for you
For most customers, nothing changes. The rules require a regulated entity to make sure it holds no account in the name of anyone on the UN lists of suspected terrorist links. This follows Section 51A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and Chapter IX of the RBI Know Your Customer Directions, 2025.
Lenders are told to follow the procedure in the UAPA Order of 2 February 2021, amended on 22 April 2024, and to ensure “meticulous compliance”. In practice, this is why banks screen account holders against sanctions lists as part of KYC checks.
The RBI also says that if a bank receives a request to be taken off the list, it must forward it electronically to the Joint Secretary (CTCR) at the Ministry of Home Affairs. People or entities seeking removal can also apply to the UN’s Focal Point for Delisting, set up under resolution 1730 (2006), directly or through their State of residence or nationality.
Background
The RBI regularly passes on UN list updates received through the government. An earlier circular covered changes to three entries; see RBI tells lenders to act on UN sanctions list changes to 3 entries.
The updated UN lists for ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and the Taliban are published on the UN Security Council sanctions website, which the circular points lenders to.
